UberMetalDood
New member
In my quest to find a superb sounding low wattage amp, I was lucky enough to stumble upon an Elmwood Stinger 30 head. Elmwood amps are incredible and it's pitiful that they are not more common here in the U.S. Indeed they are very pricey, but it is the unwillingness of U.S. dealers to negotiate deals on Elmwood amps that make them hard to obtain. I called every U.S. Elmwood dealer (except the one I bought from) and none of them were willing to go below MSRP.
In any case, my head is on its way and I cannot wait for it it arrive. The last time I played and Elmwood amp was probably over a year ago when I got to play the crap out of a Modena 90 and Bonneville 50. I was sick in love with both amps, but my buddy would not dare part with them.
As much as I absolutely crave the Bonneville and Modena, they are very loud and powerful amps. They have awesome master volumes and can do well at low volumes, but I want that pushed tube sound without cracking the foundation of my house. Enter the Stinger 30 which is equipped with 4 EL84 power tubes and a feature that allows the amp to run at pentode (30w) or triode (15w). It has 2 channels, clean and drive. Not jam packed with features, but plenty of versatility. From what I hear, it has mega clean headroom if you want it, even if the volume is cranked. My friend also says it's full sounding and easily mixes it up in a fair sized gig.
Since I have not actually played a Stinger 30 my self, this is rather a leap of faith. I'm only going on my impression of Elmwood overall based on my experience with the M90 and Bonneville, audio demos, video from Youtube, and what my pal says about it. Considering that it cost me less than $1400, I'm 99% certain that I will be satisfied.
I'll post an update soon. Go check out some Elmwoods. They came out with a Modena 20 not too long ago. I have no idea what the price is, but hopefully it's a lot more affordable than the M90. It's a 20w, 2 channel amp, but loaded with KT66's. There's only one audio demo, but from the way it sounds, it's got some of that Marshall Vintage Modern kind of crunch and thickness.
In any case, my head is on its way and I cannot wait for it it arrive. The last time I played and Elmwood amp was probably over a year ago when I got to play the crap out of a Modena 90 and Bonneville 50. I was sick in love with both amps, but my buddy would not dare part with them.
As much as I absolutely crave the Bonneville and Modena, they are very loud and powerful amps. They have awesome master volumes and can do well at low volumes, but I want that pushed tube sound without cracking the foundation of my house. Enter the Stinger 30 which is equipped with 4 EL84 power tubes and a feature that allows the amp to run at pentode (30w) or triode (15w). It has 2 channels, clean and drive. Not jam packed with features, but plenty of versatility. From what I hear, it has mega clean headroom if you want it, even if the volume is cranked. My friend also says it's full sounding and easily mixes it up in a fair sized gig.
Since I have not actually played a Stinger 30 my self, this is rather a leap of faith. I'm only going on my impression of Elmwood overall based on my experience with the M90 and Bonneville, audio demos, video from Youtube, and what my pal says about it. Considering that it cost me less than $1400, I'm 99% certain that I will be satisfied.
I'll post an update soon. Go check out some Elmwoods. They came out with a Modena 20 not too long ago. I have no idea what the price is, but hopefully it's a lot more affordable than the M90. It's a 20w, 2 channel amp, but loaded with KT66's. There's only one audio demo, but from the way it sounds, it's got some of that Marshall Vintage Modern kind of crunch and thickness.
